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Psychology

As long as humans exist, so will human behavior. And understanding human behavior is a skill that will empower you to understand and help others. A psychology degree from Dordt can help you develop your professional skills, determine your career path, and discover a biblical and psychological understanding of the people around you.

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Program Overview

Dordt’s psychology program helps students develop beyond technical knowledge and book learning. We combine lectures and theory study with hands-on research methods and case studies. You’ll also have a chance to get real experience interning for a local human service agency.

Our faculty has broad training and experience in clinical, developmental, research, educational, cognitive, and neurological psychology. That means you’ll learn more than one specific focus or style of study. And our small class sizes allow you to develop close relationships with faculty members.

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What can I do with a major in psychology from Dordt University?

Trying to list all the career paths available to psychology majors would be nearly impossible. Some attend graduate school. Others work as clinical, developmental, research, educational, cognitive, or neurological psychologists. Psychology graduates have gone on to work as therapists, psychologists, and caseworkers. Some pursue graduate degrees in counseling, marriage and family therapy, school psychology, and more.

What matters most is that psychology-related careers offer the ability to help others. If you’re passionate about making a difference in people’s lives, you’ll find satisfying work with a degree in psychology. And when you study psychology at Dordt, you’ll get the unique experience of having your Christian faith woven into every aspect of your education.

The career outcome rate for our psychology graduates in 2021 was 100%.

Therapist

Therapists provide assistance to their clients by helping them develop the necessary skills needed to work through their mental health struggles.

Behavior Analyst

Behavior Analysts observe interactions between the individual and their environment.

Psychologist

A Psychologist studies human processes and behavior based on relation and environment.

Psychology Major

Students who study psychology will grow in their understanding of and appreciation for people and their similarities and individual differences. Psychology helps you better understand yourself. Psychology prepares you to work with people under any circumstance, not only the counseling relationship, but also as family members, co-workers, and clients.

There is no aspect of life wherein a better understanding of why people think, feel, and act the way they do would not improve human relations. Psychology also takes seriously the understanding of science and how knowledge is built. A basic understanding of research, as is developed in an undergraduate psychology curriculum, prepares students to be future researchers, but also to be consumers of research, to be problem solvers, and to be critical thinkers.

  • Biblical foundations: Compare a Reformed, biblical perspective on being human to the major perspectives in psychology and articulate how that view affects theory and practice.
  • Knowledge base: Have a solid base of theoretical and empirical knowledge in psychology.
  • Methodological proficiency: Describe the methods and the process of ethical research in psychology and conduct research to address psychological questions.
  • Analytical and critical-thinking skills: Apply their knowledge of human complexity to analyze assumptions and causal factors, weigh evidence, and solve problems.
  • Writing and communication skills: Demonstrate effective writing and oral communication skills for various purposes and audiences.
  • Professional development: Students will be able to use interpersonal skills with integrity and empathy to listen accurately, attend to non-verbal behavior, ask appropriate questions, and provide constructive feedback.

To learn more, you can also view the program strengths and learning outcomes for this program.

What matters most is that psychology-related careers offer the ability to help others. If you’re passionate about making a difference in people’s lives, you’ll find satisfying work with a degree in psychology. And when you study psychology at Dordt, you’ll get the unique experience of having your Christian faith woven into every aspect of your education.

Graduates from Dordt’s psychology program have worked for places like the Family Crisis Centers, the South Dakota State Penitentiary, and Hope Haven, Inc.

The psychology program provides opportunities for students to develop their skills, learn about available resources, and take advantage of individualized attention in a variety of ways.

  • Advanced Training Opportunities: students get hands-on training through work experiences. They take the types of testing and measurement classes that are usually offered only in graduate programs.
  • Graduate School Preparation: students have the opportunity to attend professor-led workshops on the various components of graduate school processes and opportunities.
  • Faculty Relationships: students will get to know their professors, and they get to know their students. Professors have students over for a fall welcome picnic, encourage them along the way, and host a dinner in the students' honor when they graduate. They help with resumes, job searches, and maybe even pull a prank or two!
  • Professional Development Opportunities: students attend at least six professional development events throughout the program designed to expose them to the many facets of the field of psychology. Those events include a spring lecture series, an APA Writing Style Workshop, and attending the Siouxland Undergraduate Research Conference.

In the psychology program at Dordt you will get hands-on training through classroom experiential learning and field experience opportunities, take courses with students from a wide variety of majors, take courses from faculty with broad training and experience in clinical, developmental, research, educational, cognitive, and neurological psychology, and have the opportunity to develop close relationships with the faculty members.

  • Introduction to Psychology: Explaining human behavior is a wonderfully complex task, and this course introduces students to the scientific study of topics such as memory, personality, development, social influence, disorders, and others. Along the way, we will use a bio-psycho-social (spiritual) model to frame our study and will compare a biblical perspective on being human to several historical perspectives in psychology.
  • Research Methods: This course introduces students to the research process, including formulation of hypotheses, design, interpretation, and communication of results. The course will include a review of statistical procedures with an emphasis on selection and interpretation of analyses and an introduction to computer data analysis with R. Methods of research are discussed from a reformed, Christian perspective. Students complete research proposals.
  • Senior Research Project: This highly interactive course develops students’ collaborative, cognitive, and communication skills as they design, conduct, and present psychological research as a service to campus or community groups. Students also consider tensions that face Christian psychologists as they conduct research and enter the profession of psychology. Weekly labs involve opportunities to practice new learning in a just-in-time approach that prepares students for the next step in their own research. Satisfies Core Program writing-intensive requirement.
  • History of Psychology and Worldview: A brief study of the historical development of psychological theories from the ancient world to the present, with extended treatment given to major contemporary movements or perspectives in psychology (such as psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanism) and to recent attempts by Christians to “integrate” theology and psychology.
  • Introductory Statistics: An introductory course in statistical techniques and methods and their application to a variety of fields. Topics include data analysis, design of experiments, and statistical inference including confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Exposure to statistical software and a substantive student project are also part of this course.
  • Seven psychology electives (20 or more credits)
    • At least two must be at the 300-level

See the course catalog for more information

Psychology Minor

If you’re looking for a minor to supplement and even amplify almost any major, psychology can often be the perfect fit. A psychology minor can help you more effectively communicate with others. It can help you develop empathy for others. And it can give you insights into the way the human mind functions and reacts to situations and circumstances.

A minor in psychology helps you develop a toolset to use in whichever professional field you enter after graduating.

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Education emphasis

An education emphasis is also available with the Psychology program. As you study psychology you'll also train in education, giving you the tools to teach others.

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“Dordt’s professors are a truly passionate, unique group of individuals that care deeply about their students and the material they are teaching. I have learned about so many different perspectives, especially in my field of psychology, that I didn’t even know existed... Going to Dordt has made me a more open-minded, curious person.”

Brittany Bloemhof
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Faculty

With experience in a variety of fields, our faculty members are equipped and ready to help you succeed.

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